The government plans to remove the mandatory introductory course for private driving practice, a move that has been voted through by the Riksdag. The course has been mandatory since 2006. According to the government, the course is abolished because it has not had the intended effect of improving the planning, structure and content of private driving practice. The government's motivation is that the course requirement has been a threshold for private driving practice and limited the possibility to easily practice with several different supervisors.
Andreas Carlsson (M), Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, said the mandatory training has had little or no effect on the extent and structure of private driving practice and has rather been a threshold. He added that the removal is about removing a threshold and enabling more practice, allowing more people to be supervisors. The government argues that the course, while well-intentioned, created an unnecessary hurdle for learners and their supervisors without delivering measurable safety benefits.
It feels like vote fishing.
The introductory course, which has been mandatory since 2006, is at least three hours long and costs around 350 kronor per person. The student must be at least 15 years and 9 months old. A supervisor can have a maximum of five students at a time. The course must be completed before submitting the supervision application. Driving instructors must be approved by Transportstyrelsen and meet specific requirements including age 21, a valid license for three of the last ten years, and polytechnic training. The introduction course covers traffic safety, planning, and supervisor responsibilities. It can be taken without a driving permit and is taken in groups of up to 30 people.
The proposal is met with criticism from traffic safety organization NTF and driving schools. According to SVT Nyheter, Jonas Nilsson, driving school teacher and CEO of Tingvalla driving school, described the move as 'vote fishing'. According to SVT Nyheter, Anders Kalborg, operations manager at NTF Värmland, described the problem as supervisors getting no guidance when they go out to practice drive, often with their own children. Jonas Nilsson claims his driving school would lose between 300,000 and 700,000 SEK if the introductory course is removed. NTF Värmland also runs a driving school and would lose revenue, but they say the criticism is about traffic safety, not money.
The problem is that supervisors get no guidance when they go out to practice drive, often with their own children.
The exact effective date of the abolition remains unclear. Major media reports that the law takes effect on August 1, 2025, while the Riksdagen states the abolition takes effect on August 1, 2026. This discrepancy has caused confusion among driving schools and learners planning their practice. The status of the legislative process also appears contradictory: the Riksdag has already voted through the change, but the proposal has been referred to the Council on Law (Lagrådet) for review, implying it is still in process. This likely reflects different publication dates, but it underscores the need for clarity. The government has not specified what evidence or studies were used to conclude the course had no intended effect. The impact on traffic safety, particularly accident rates among novice drivers, is unknown. No alternative measures have been announced to ensure supervisors are adequately prepared. The financial impact on driving schools that rely on revenue from the introductory course is also uncertain.